Credit bureau
Encyclopedia
A credit bureau or credit reference agency (United Kingdom
) is a company that collects information from various sources and provides consumer credit
information on individual consumers for a variety of uses. It is an organization providing information on individuals' borrowing and bill paying habits. This helps lenders assess credit worthiness, the ability to pay back a loan
, and can affect the interest rate
and other terms of a loan. Interest rates are not the same for everyone, but instead can be based on risk-based pricing
, a form of price discrimination based on the different expected risks of different borrowers, as set out in their credit rating
. Consumers with poor credit repayment histories or court adjudicated debt obligations like tax liens or bankruptcies will pay a higher annual interest rate than consumers who don't have these factors.
In the U.S., credit bureaus collect and collate personal information, financial data, and alternative data
on individuals from a variety of sources called data furnishers with which the bureaus have a relationship. Data furnishers are typically creditors, lenders, utilities, debt collection agencies and the courts (i.e. public records
) that a consumer has had a relationship or experience with. Data furnishers report their payment experience with the consumer to the credit bureaus. The data provided by the furnishers as well as collected by the bureaus are then aggregated into the credit bureau's data repository or files. The resulting information is made available on request to customers of the credit bureau for the purposes of credit risk
assessment, credit scoring
or for other purposes such as employment consideration or leasing an apartment. Given the large number of consumer borrowers, these credit scores tend to be mechanistic. To simplify the analytical process for their customers, the different credit bureaus can apply a mathematical algorithm
to provide a score the customer can use to more rapidly assess the likelihood that an individual will repay a given debt
given the frequency that other individuals in similar situations have defaulted. Most consumer welfare advocates advise individuals to review their credit reports at least once per year, in order to ensure that the reports are accurate.
Commercial credit reports and scoring also exist, which can be used to evaluate the likelihood of a business paying creditors. Examples of these are the Paydex
score from Dun & Bradstreet
, the Experian
Intelliscore
the CPR Score from Cortera
, the National Trade Credit Report from the National Association of Credit Management (NACM), the CIC Score from SACM (Southeastern Association of Credit Management, an NACM affiliate), and the PayNet MasterScore(SM) from PayNet.
), India's first Credit Information Bureau, is an effort made by the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India to improve the functionality and stability of the Indian financial system by containing NPAs while improving credit grantors' portfolio quality.
CIBIL
was promoted by State Bank of India
(SBI), Housing Development Finance Corporation
(HDFC), Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Private Limited (D&B) and TransUnion International Inc. (TransUnion) to provide comprehensive credit information by collecting, collating and disseminating credit information pertaining to both commercial and consumer borrowers, to a closed user group of Members.
is a software for monitoring credit reports all across Pakistan. State Bank of Pakistan monitors the Software and all the Financial Institutions in Pakistan are required to have this software installed. A monthly process updates the reports at the State Bank end.
The membership with CIB, as per instructions of SBP, is mandatory for all Banks, Developmental Financial Institutions (DFIs) and Micro Finance Banks (MFBs) respectively. No financial institution can access the CIB database without obtaining membership of CIB of State Bank of Pakistan.
All member financial institutions are required to submit entire borrowers’ records online to CIB on monthly basis. This information is submitted within a period of fortnight from the date of close of month.
There are five privately owned and managed credit bureaus operating in Pakistan:
1. MAF Business Information Services (mafbis)
2. Datacheck (Pvt.) Limited
3. Credit Chex (Pvt.) Limited (Powered by Experian
UK)
4. News-VIS Credit Information Services (Pvt.) Limited.
5. ICIL-International Credit Information Ltd./ PakBizInfo
History
The Electronic Credit Information Bureau (CIB) was established by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in December, 1992. The scope and activities of CIB are governed under the provisions of Banking Companies Ordinance (BCO), 1962. The Section 25(A) vests powers with SBP to call for credit information in such manner as it may deem necessary and make such information available to any banking company.
, Equifax
and Callcredit
, which works closely with its US partner, TransUnion
.
Most banks and other credit-granting organisations subscribe to one or more of these organisations to ensure the quality of their lending. This includes companies who sell goods or services on credit such as credit card
issuers, utility companies and store card issuers. Subscribing organisations are expected to provide relevant data to maintain the common data pool.
Credit reference agencies are bound by the Data Protection Act 1998, which requires that data relating to identifiable individuals must be accurate, relevant, held for a proper purpose and not out-of-date. Individuals have a legal right to access data held on them.
The activities of Credit Reference Agencies are governed by the Consumer Credit Act 1974
.
(FCRA) is consumer reporting agency — often abbreviated in the industry as CRA.
In the United States, key credit bureau consumer protections and general rules or governing guidelines for both the credit bureaus and data furnishers are the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act
(FCRA), Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), Fair Credit Billing Act
(FCBA), and Regulation B.
Two government bodies share responsibility for the oversight
of credit bureaus and those that furnish data to them. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has oversight for the consumer credit bureaus. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) charters, regulates, and supervises all national banks with regard to the data they furnish credit bureaus.
Most U.S. consumer credit information is collected and kept by the four national credit reporting agencies: Experian
(formerly TRW Information Systems & Services
and the CCN Group), Equifax
, TransUnion
, and Innovis
(which was purchased from First Data Corporation in 1999 by CBC Companies
). These organizations are for-profit businesses and possess no government affiliation. Though they are competitors, they have formed a trade organization called the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) to establish reporting standards and lobby on behalf of their industry issues in Washington. Current reporting standards accepted by the four U.S. CRAs are Metro and Metro2. The Metro2 standard is defined in the annual CDIA publication, the Credit Reporting Resource Guide. Consumers are entitled to a free annual credit report from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies, Equifax
, Experian
and TransUnion
. Consumers can go to annualcreditreport.com
, the Internet site maintained by the three companies, to get their free report.
There are dozens of other similar information collection and reporting firms that analyze and sell information about consumers for other purposes, including those who aggregate multiple credit data sources and provide lenders with customized analytical tools.
PRBC
(Payment Reporting Builds Credit, Inc.) is a national alternative credit bureau
. Incorporated in March 2002, PRBC enables consumers to self-enroll and build a positive credit file by reporting their on-time payments (such as rent, utilities, cable, and phone) that are not automatically reported to the three traditional credit bureaus.
In the U.S., there are six business or commercial bureau repositories (in alphabetical order): Cortera, Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, Equifax Small Business Financial Exchange (SBFE), PayNet, and Southeastern Association of Credit Management (SACM).
, 472 U.S. 749 (1985) the U.S. Supreme Court held that a credit reporting agency may be liable if it was careless in reporting an impending or past bankruptcy
filing of a business that is not a public figure
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) is a company that collects information from various sources and provides consumer credit
Credit (finance)
Credit is the trust which allows one party to provide resources to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately , but instead arranges either to repay or return those resources at a later date. The resources provided may be financial Credit is the trust...
information on individual consumers for a variety of uses. It is an organization providing information on individuals' borrowing and bill paying habits. This helps lenders assess credit worthiness, the ability to pay back a loan
Loan
A loan is a type of debt. Like all debt instruments, a loan entails the redistribution of financial assets over time, between the lender and the borrower....
, and can affect the interest rate
Interest rate
An interest rate is the rate at which interest is paid by a borrower for the use of money that they borrow from a lender. For example, a small company borrows capital from a bank to buy new assets for their business, and in return the lender receives interest at a predetermined interest rate for...
and other terms of a loan. Interest rates are not the same for everyone, but instead can be based on risk-based pricing
Risk-based pricing
Risk-based pricing is a methodology adopted by many lenders in the mortgage and financial services industries. It has been in use for many years as lenders try to measure loan risk in terms of interest rates and other fees...
, a form of price discrimination based on the different expected risks of different borrowers, as set out in their credit rating
Credit rating
A credit rating evaluates the credit worthiness of an issuer of specific types of debt, specifically, debt issued by a business enterprise such as a corporation or a government. It is an evaluation made by a credit rating agency of the debt issuers likelihood of default. Credit ratings are...
. Consumers with poor credit repayment histories or court adjudicated debt obligations like tax liens or bankruptcies will pay a higher annual interest rate than consumers who don't have these factors.
In the U.S., credit bureaus collect and collate personal information, financial data, and alternative data
Alternative data
In economic policy, alternative data refers to the inclusion of non-financial payment reporting data in credit files, such as telecom and energy utility payments. Only 39 of 178 economies have credit bureaus that currently track alternative data....
on individuals from a variety of sources called data furnishers with which the bureaus have a relationship. Data furnishers are typically creditors, lenders, utilities, debt collection agencies and the courts (i.e. public records
Public records
Public records are documents or pieces of information that are not considered confidential. For example, in California, when a couple fills out a marriage license application, they have the option of checking the box as to whether the marriage is "confidential" or "Public"...
) that a consumer has had a relationship or experience with. Data furnishers report their payment experience with the consumer to the credit bureaus. The data provided by the furnishers as well as collected by the bureaus are then aggregated into the credit bureau's data repository or files. The resulting information is made available on request to customers of the credit bureau for the purposes of credit risk
Credit risk
Credit risk is an investor's risk of loss arising from a borrower who does not make payments as promised. Such an event is called a default. Other terms for credit risk are default risk and counterparty risk....
assessment, credit scoring
Credit score
A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a person's credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of that person...
or for other purposes such as employment consideration or leasing an apartment. Given the large number of consumer borrowers, these credit scores tend to be mechanistic. To simplify the analytical process for their customers, the different credit bureaus can apply a mathematical algorithm
Algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
to provide a score the customer can use to more rapidly assess the likelihood that an individual will repay a given debt
Debt
A debt is an obligation owed by one party to a second party, the creditor; usually this refers to assets granted by the creditor to the debtor, but the term can also be used metaphorically to cover moral obligations and other interactions not based on economic value.A debt is created when a...
given the frequency that other individuals in similar situations have defaulted. Most consumer welfare advocates advise individuals to review their credit reports at least once per year, in order to ensure that the reports are accurate.
Commercial credit reports and scoring also exist, which can be used to evaluate the likelihood of a business paying creditors. Examples of these are the Paydex
Paydex
Paydex is a term used in business, for a numerical score granted by Dun and Bradstreet to Business as a credit score for the promptness of their payments to creditors...
score from Dun & Bradstreet
Dun & Bradstreet
Dun & Bradstreet is a Fortune 500 public company headquartered in Short Hills, New Jersey, USA that provides information on businesses and corporations for use in credit decisions, B2B marketing and supply chain management...
, the Experian
Experian
Experian plc, formerly known as CCN Systems, is a global credit information group with operations in 36 countries. The company employs 15,500 people with corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and operational headquarters in Nottingham, England and Costa Mesa, California, US...
Intelliscore
Intelliscore
An Intelliscore is a term used in business, for a numerical score granted by Experian to Business as a credit score for the promptness of their payments to creditors...
the CPR Score from Cortera
Cortera
Cortera, headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, USA, is a provider of credit information on businesses and corporations. The company provides business information with a database containing a number of private and public U.S. companies, analytics about each of those companies, and workflow software...
, the National Trade Credit Report from the National Association of Credit Management (NACM), the CIC Score from SACM (Southeastern Association of Credit Management, an NACM affiliate), and the PayNet MasterScore(SM) from PayNet.
India
The establishment of Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBILCIBIL
CIBIL is India's first credit information bureau. Its a repository of information, which contains the credit history of commercial and consumer borrowers...
), India's first Credit Information Bureau, is an effort made by the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India to improve the functionality and stability of the Indian financial system by containing NPAs while improving credit grantors' portfolio quality.
CIBIL
CIBIL
CIBIL is India's first credit information bureau. Its a repository of information, which contains the credit history of commercial and consumer borrowers...
was promoted by State Bank of India
State Bank of India
The State Bank of India is the largest Indian banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Mumbai, India. It is state-owned. The bank traces its ancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding in 1806 of the Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest...
(SBI), Housing Development Finance Corporation
Housing Development Finance Corporation
Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited or HDFC , founded 1977 by Hasmukhbhai Parekh, is an Indian NBFC, focusing on home mortgages. HDFC's distribution network spans 283 outlets that include 66 offices of HDFC's distribution company and HDFC Sales Private Limited.In addition, HDFC covers...
(HDFC), Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Private Limited (D&B) and TransUnion International Inc. (TransUnion) to provide comprehensive credit information by collecting, collating and disseminating credit information pertaining to both commercial and consumer borrowers, to a closed user group of Members.
Pakistan
eCIB ECIBECIB
Ecib is the short form of Electronic Credit Information Bureau, which is located in Pakistan.-About:eCIB is a software for monitoring credit reports fpr Pakistan. The State Bank of Pakistan monitors the Software and all the Financial Institutions in Pakistan are required to have this software...
is a software for monitoring credit reports all across Pakistan. State Bank of Pakistan monitors the Software and all the Financial Institutions in Pakistan are required to have this software installed. A monthly process updates the reports at the State Bank end.
The membership with CIB, as per instructions of SBP, is mandatory for all Banks, Developmental Financial Institutions (DFIs) and Micro Finance Banks (MFBs) respectively. No financial institution can access the CIB database without obtaining membership of CIB of State Bank of Pakistan.
All member financial institutions are required to submit entire borrowers’ records online to CIB on monthly basis. This information is submitted within a period of fortnight from the date of close of month.
There are five privately owned and managed credit bureaus operating in Pakistan:
1. MAF Business Information Services (mafbis)
2. Datacheck (Pvt.) Limited
3. Credit Chex (Pvt.) Limited (Powered by Experian
Experian
Experian plc, formerly known as CCN Systems, is a global credit information group with operations in 36 countries. The company employs 15,500 people with corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and operational headquarters in Nottingham, England and Costa Mesa, California, US...
UK)
4. News-VIS Credit Information Services (Pvt.) Limited.
5. ICIL-International Credit Information Ltd./ PakBizInfo
History
The Electronic Credit Information Bureau (CIB) was established by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in December, 1992. The scope and activities of CIB are governed under the provisions of Banking Companies Ordinance (BCO), 1962. The Section 25(A) vests powers with SBP to call for credit information in such manner as it may deem necessary and make such information available to any banking company.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the three credit reference agencies are ExperianExperian
Experian plc, formerly known as CCN Systems, is a global credit information group with operations in 36 countries. The company employs 15,500 people with corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and operational headquarters in Nottingham, England and Costa Mesa, California, US...
, Equifax
Equifax
Equifax Inc. is a consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Founded in 1899, Equifax is the oldest of the three agencies and gathers and maintains information on over 400 million credit...
and Callcredit
Callcredit
Callcredit Limited is a credit reference agency. Credit reference agencies collect and store details about consumers and their personal credit history...
, which works closely with its US partner, TransUnion
TransUnion
TransUnion is the third largest credit bureau in the United States, which offers credit-related information to potential creditors. Like major competitors Equifax and Experian, TransUnion markets credit reports directly to consumers.- History :...
.
Most banks and other credit-granting organisations subscribe to one or more of these organisations to ensure the quality of their lending. This includes companies who sell goods or services on credit such as credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
issuers, utility companies and store card issuers. Subscribing organisations are expected to provide relevant data to maintain the common data pool.
Credit reference agencies are bound by the Data Protection Act 1998, which requires that data relating to identifiable individuals must be accurate, relevant, held for a proper purpose and not out-of-date. Individuals have a legal right to access data held on them.
The activities of Credit Reference Agencies are governed by the Consumer Credit Act 1974
Consumer Credit Act 1974
The Consumer Credit Act 1974 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that significantly reformed the law relating to consumer credit within the United Kingdom....
.
United States
In the United States, the legal term for a credit bureau under the federal Fair Credit Reporting ActFair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a United States federal law that regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer information, including consumer credit information. Along with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act , it forms the base of consumer credit rights in the United States...
(FCRA) is consumer reporting agency — often abbreviated in the industry as CRA.
In the United States, key credit bureau consumer protections and general rules or governing guidelines for both the credit bureaus and data furnishers are the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act
Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a United States federal law that regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer information, including consumer credit information. Along with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act , it forms the base of consumer credit rights in the United States...
(FCRA), Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), Fair Credit Billing Act
Fair Credit Billing Act
The Fair Credit Billing Act is a United States federal law enacted in 1975 as an amendment to the Truth in Lending Act...
(FCBA), and Regulation B.
Two government bodies share responsibility for the oversight
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
of credit bureaus and those that furnish data to them. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has oversight for the consumer credit bureaus. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) charters, regulates, and supervises all national banks with regard to the data they furnish credit bureaus.
Most U.S. consumer credit information is collected and kept by the four national credit reporting agencies: Experian
Experian
Experian plc, formerly known as CCN Systems, is a global credit information group with operations in 36 countries. The company employs 15,500 people with corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and operational headquarters in Nottingham, England and Costa Mesa, California, US...
(formerly TRW Information Systems & Services
TRW
TRW Inc. was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, automotive, and credit reporting. It was a pioneer in multiple fields including electronic components, integrated circuits, computers, software and systems engineering. TRW built many spacecraft,...
and the CCN Group), Equifax
Equifax
Equifax Inc. is a consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Founded in 1899, Equifax is the oldest of the three agencies and gathers and maintains information on over 400 million credit...
, TransUnion
TransUnion
TransUnion is the third largest credit bureau in the United States, which offers credit-related information to potential creditors. Like major competitors Equifax and Experian, TransUnion markets credit reports directly to consumers.- History :...
, and Innovis
Innovis
Innovis is the 4th credit bureau in the United States, the other three being Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Currently, a much smaller number of companies use Innovis for credit reporting, one being Trade Capital Company...
(which was purchased from First Data Corporation in 1999 by CBC Companies
Innovis
Innovis is the 4th credit bureau in the United States, the other three being Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Currently, a much smaller number of companies use Innovis for credit reporting, one being Trade Capital Company...
). These organizations are for-profit businesses and possess no government affiliation. Though they are competitors, they have formed a trade organization called the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) to establish reporting standards and lobby on behalf of their industry issues in Washington. Current reporting standards accepted by the four U.S. CRAs are Metro and Metro2. The Metro2 standard is defined in the annual CDIA publication, the Credit Reporting Resource Guide. Consumers are entitled to a free annual credit report from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies, Equifax
Equifax
Equifax Inc. is a consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Founded in 1899, Equifax is the oldest of the three agencies and gathers and maintains information on over 400 million credit...
, Experian
Experian
Experian plc, formerly known as CCN Systems, is a global credit information group with operations in 36 countries. The company employs 15,500 people with corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and operational headquarters in Nottingham, England and Costa Mesa, California, US...
and TransUnion
TransUnion
TransUnion is the third largest credit bureau in the United States, which offers credit-related information to potential creditors. Like major competitors Equifax and Experian, TransUnion markets credit reports directly to consumers.- History :...
. Consumers can go to annualcreditreport.com
Annualcreditreport.com
Annualcreditreport.com is a website jointly operated by the three major U.S. credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The site was created in order to comply with their obligations under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act to provide a mechanism for American...
, the Internet site maintained by the three companies, to get their free report.
There are dozens of other similar information collection and reporting firms that analyze and sell information about consumers for other purposes, including those who aggregate multiple credit data sources and provide lenders with customized analytical tools.
PRBC
Prbc
PRBC is a consumer credit reporting agency, more commonly referred to as a credit bureau in the United States. It is similar to the other four U.S. credit bureaus in that it is an FCRA compliant national data repository. However, PRBC differs in a few distinct ways...
(Payment Reporting Builds Credit, Inc.) is a national alternative credit bureau
Alternative data
In economic policy, alternative data refers to the inclusion of non-financial payment reporting data in credit files, such as telecom and energy utility payments. Only 39 of 178 economies have credit bureaus that currently track alternative data....
. Incorporated in March 2002, PRBC enables consumers to self-enroll and build a positive credit file by reporting their on-time payments (such as rent, utilities, cable, and phone) that are not automatically reported to the three traditional credit bureaus.
In the U.S., there are six business or commercial bureau repositories (in alphabetical order): Cortera, Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, Equifax Small Business Financial Exchange (SBFE), PayNet, and Southeastern Association of Credit Management (SACM).
Tort liability for business defamation
In the case of Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc.Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc.
Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc., 472 U.S. 749 was a Supreme Court case which held that a credit reporting agency could be liable in defamation if it carelessly relayed Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc., 472 U.S. 749 (1985) was a Supreme Court case which held...
, 472 U.S. 749 (1985) the U.S. Supreme Court held that a credit reporting agency may be liable if it was careless in reporting an impending or past bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
filing of a business that is not a public figure
Public figure
Public figure is a legal term applied in the context of defamation actions as well as invasion of privacy. A public figure cannot base a lawsuit on incorrect harmful statements unless there is proof that the writer or publisher acted with actual malice...
.
List of credit reporting agencies by country
| Country | Major bureaus | Other bureaus |
|---|---|---|
 Armenia |
Armenian Credit Reporting Agency | |
 Australia |
Veda Advantage | |
 Austria |
KSV, Deltavista | |
 Bangladesh |
Rose Leemon Credit Reports & Collections Limited | |
 Belgium |
UPC-BVK | |
 Botswana |
Compuscan Compuscan Compuscan is a South African credit bureau that provides consumer and commercial credit information within South Africa and other African nations.... |
|
 Kingdom of Bulgaria |
Experian | Creditreturn Ltd |
 Canada |
Equifax Equifax Equifax Inc. is a consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Founded in 1899, Equifax is the oldest of the three agencies and gathers and maintains information on over 400 million credit... , TransUnion TransUnion TransUnion is the third largest credit bureau in the United States, which offers credit-related information to potential creditors. Like major competitors Equifax and Experian, TransUnion markets credit reports directly to consumers.- History :... |
|
 Denmark |
RKI Kredit Information A/S | |
 Dominican Republic |
Data Credito, TransUnion TransUnion TransUnion is the third largest credit bureau in the United States, which offers credit-related information to potential creditors. Like major competitors Equifax and Experian, TransUnion markets credit reports directly to consumers.- History :... |
|
 Egypt |
i-score | |
 Finland |
Finska | |
 Germany |
Schufa, Creditreform, Deltavista | |
 Greece |
Tiresias | |
 Cyprus |
First Cyprus Credit Bureau | |
 India |
High Mark Credit Information Services High Mark Credit Information Services High Mark Credit Information Services is credit information company based in Mumbai. It keep a record of defaults and frauds that help banks and credit card companies to analyse the risk profile of individuals before extending credit. It collect information such as loan repayment history and bill... , CIBIL CIBIL CIBIL is India's first credit information bureau. Its a repository of information, which contains the credit history of commercial and consumer borrowers... , CRISIL CRISIL Credit Rating and Information Services of India Ltd. a global analytical company providing ratings, research, and risk and policy advisory services.... , Experian Experian Experian plc, formerly known as CCN Systems, is a global credit information group with operations in 36 countries. The company employs 15,500 people with corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and operational headquarters in Nottingham, England and Costa Mesa, California, US... & Equifax Equifax Equifax Inc. is a consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Founded in 1899, Equifax is the oldest of the three agencies and gathers and maintains information on over 400 million credit... |
|
 Republic of Ireland |
Irish Credit Bureau | |
 Italy |
Experian, CRIF, CTC, BDCR Assilea | |
 Kenya |
Kutz Univar, Hornbill Credit link Ltd. | |
 Mexico |
Equifax Equifax Equifax Inc. is a consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Founded in 1899, Equifax is the oldest of the three agencies and gathers and maintains information on over 400 million credit... , TransUnion TransUnion TransUnion is the third largest credit bureau in the United States, which offers credit-related information to potential creditors. Like major competitors Equifax and Experian, TransUnion markets credit reports directly to consumers.- History :... , Buró de Crédito |
|
 Morocco |
Experian Moroccan Credit Bureau | |
 Namibia |
Compuscan Compuscan Compuscan is a South African credit bureau that provides consumer and commercial credit information within South Africa and other African nations.... |
|
 Netherlands |
creditDevice, Graydon, Dun & Bradstreet | |
 New Zealand |
Veda Advantage | |
 Nigeria |
XDS Credit Bureau, CreditRegistry, CRC Credit Bureau | |
 Mauritius |
Kutz Univar | |
 Pakistan |
CIB (State Bank of Pakistan), MAF Business Information Services (mafbis), Credit Chex (Powered by Experian Experian Experian plc, formerly known as CCN Systems, is a global credit information group with operations in 36 countries. The company employs 15,500 people with corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and operational headquarters in Nottingham, England and Costa Mesa, California, US... UK), International Credit Information Ltd. www.pakbizinfo.com |
|
 Peru |
Equifax Equifax Equifax Inc. is a consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Founded in 1899, Equifax is the oldest of the three agencies and gathers and maintains information on over 400 million credit... |
|
 Poland |
BIK SA | |
 Portugal |
Credinformações | |
 Kingdom of Romania |
Biroul de Credit | |
 Rwanda |
Compuscan Compuscan Compuscan is a South African credit bureau that provides consumer and commercial credit information within South Africa and other African nations.... |
|
| Kuwait Credit Bureau (Ci-Net first credit bureau agency in the middle east) | ||
| Saudi Credit Bureau (SIMAH) | ||
 South Africa |
Compuscan Compuscan Compuscan is a South African credit bureau that provides consumer and commercial credit information within South Africa and other African nations.... , Experian Experian Experian plc, formerly known as CCN Systems, is a global credit information group with operations in 36 countries. The company employs 15,500 people with corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and operational headquarters in Nottingham, England and Costa Mesa, California, US... , Kutz Univar, TransUnion TransUnion TransUnion is the third largest credit bureau in the United States, which offers credit-related information to potential creditors. Like major competitors Equifax and Experian, TransUnion markets credit reports directly to consumers.- History :... , |
|
 South Korea |
KCB (Korea Credit Bureau), KIS, NICE (National Information & Credit Evaluation National Information & Credit Evaluation National Information & Credit Evaluation, or NICE, is a credit information group with operations in South Korea.The company is listed on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or KOSPI.... ) |
|
 Spain |
Credinformações | |
 Sweden |
Soliditet AB, UC | |
 Switzerland |
Deltavista, Creditreform | |
 Tanzania |
Kutz Univar | |
 Turkey |
KKB | |
 Uganda |
Compuscan Compuscan Compuscan is a South African credit bureau that provides consumer and commercial credit information within South Africa and other African nations.... , Kutz Univar |
|
 Ukraine |
UBKI | |
 United Kingdom |
Experian Experian Experian plc, formerly known as CCN Systems, is a global credit information group with operations in 36 countries. The company employs 15,500 people with corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and operational headquarters in Nottingham, England and Costa Mesa, California, US... , Equifax Equifax Equifax Inc. is a consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Founded in 1899, Equifax is the oldest of the three agencies and gathers and maintains information on over 400 million credit... , Callcredit Callcredit Callcredit Limited is a credit reference agency. Credit reference agencies collect and store details about consumers and their personal credit history... |
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 United States |
FICO Fico Fico may refer to:* Fair Isaac Corporation , an American company* FICO score, a credit score developed by Fair Isaac Corporation * Hurricane Fico, a hurricane in the 1978 Pacific hurricane season... , Experian Experian Experian plc, formerly known as CCN Systems, is a global credit information group with operations in 36 countries. The company employs 15,500 people with corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and operational headquarters in Nottingham, England and Costa Mesa, California, US... , Equifax Equifax Equifax Inc. is a consumer credit reporting agency in the United States, considered one of the three largest American credit agencies along with Experian and TransUnion. Founded in 1899, Equifax is the oldest of the three agencies and gathers and maintains information on over 400 million credit... , TransUnion TransUnion TransUnion is the third largest credit bureau in the United States, which offers credit-related information to potential creditors. Like major competitors Equifax and Experian, TransUnion markets credit reports directly to consumers.- History :... , SACM, |
Innovis Innovis Innovis is the 4th credit bureau in the United States, the other three being Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Currently, a much smaller number of companies use Innovis for credit reporting, one being Trade Capital Company... , PRBC Prbc PRBC is a consumer credit reporting agency, more commonly referred to as a credit bureau in the United States. It is similar to the other four U.S. credit bureaus in that it is an FCRA compliant national data repository. However, PRBC differs in a few distinct ways... , TeleCheck |
 Zambia |
Kutz Univar |
External links
- Consumer Data Industry Association
- Armenian Credit Reporting Agency
- Federal Trade Commission Governmental Page on Free Credit Reports
- Federal Trade Commission Governmental Page on FCRA and consumer rights
- OCC - Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
- Dun and Bradstreet
- SACM - Southeastern Association of Credit Management
- "Credit-Information Reporting: Why free speech is vital to social accountability and consumer opportunity" by Daniel Klein
- Stoozing guide to UK CRA suppliers
- First Credit Information Bureau in India
- First Ugandan Credit Bureau
- State Bank of Pakistan FAQs about Credit Bureau
- International Credit Bureau - Міжнародне бюро кредитних історій Ukraine
- National Credit Information Bureau (Georgia) - ეროვნული საკრედიტო ინფორმაციის ბიურო
Georgia (country) - http://www.experianplc.com